Bird feeder

ABSTRACT

A bird feeder providing protection against theft of bird feed by squirrels is disclosed which comprises in combination a feeding device having a feeding zone accessible to birds and a drumshaped guard presenting an at least approximately cylindrical vertical surface at least approximately 6 inches in diameter and at least approximately 18 inches in length. Means is provided which suspends the feeding device below the guard with the center of the feeding device substantially in alignment with the projected axis of the guard and with the uppermost portion of the feeding device spaced from the lowermost portion of the guard by a distance not greater than about the diameter of the guard, the spacing of the outermost extremity of the feeding device radially from the projected axis of the guard being not more than approximately 1 inch greater than that of the portion of the peripheral surface of the guard in vertical alignment therewith. And means is provided for preventing the passage of a squirrel through the interior of the guard and for suspending the guard from a support.

United States Patent 3,515,098 6/1970 Thurmond Primary Examiner-Hugh R.Chamblce Attorney-Kenyon and Kenyon Reilly Carr and Chapin ABSTRACT: Abird feeder providing protection against theft of bird feed by squirrelsis disclosed which comprises in combination a feeding device having afeeding zone accessible to birds and a drum-shaped guard presenting anat least approximately cylindrical vertical surface at leastapproximately 6 inches in diameter and at least approximately 18 inchesin length. Means is provided which suspends the feeding device below theguard with the center of the feeding device substantially in alignmentwith the projected axis of the guard and with the uppermost portion ofthe feeding device spaced from the lowermost portion of the guard by adistance not greater than about the diameter of the guard, the spacingof the outermost extremity of the feeding device radially from theprojected axis of the guard being not more than approximately 1 inchgreater than that of the portion of the peripheral surface of the guardin vertical alignment therewith. And means is provided for preventingthe passage of a squirrel through the interior of the guard and forsuspending the guard from a support.

PATENTEH JUL 6 |97| F I G 4 INVENTOR CHARLES C. OUNBAR awflyaw 64 4 ATORNEYS BIRD FEEDER DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Field of Invention Thisinvention relates to bird feeders and relates more especially to asuspendable bird feeder comprising means for preventing squirrels fromstealing food intended for birds.

Background of the Invention The feeding of birds is a hobby which hasbecome very popular in recent years. In order to provide a container forbird food many different types of feeding device have been sold most ofwhich involve the provision of a small bin for sunflower or other birdseed and a feeding zone into which the seed flows as it is used up,which feeding zone is accessible to birds and usually has a perchadjacent thereto. Some bird feeders are supported from below by a post.On the other hand, many bird feeders are suspended by wire or otherstrand from above. Generally speaking, any locality frequented by birdsalso is frequented by squirrels. The squirrels constantly are in searchof food and have an instinct for locating and stealing bird food frombird feeders. Moreover, squirrels have such persistent ingenuitycombined with extreme agility that they find some way of gaining accessto the food in a bird feeder. This is a source of great annoyance sincea squirrel can consume most of the food in a bird feeder in a very shorttime, with the result that the bird feeder can no longer serve itsintended purpose. There have been many proposals for minimizing theftfrom bird feeders by squirrels but they have not proven to beparticularly successful.

General Statement of Invention It is an object of this invention toprovide a suspendable bird feeder which effectively safeguards the birdfood in a feeding device from the theft of food therefrom by squirrels.

The object of this invention is obtained by combiniiig a feeding devicehaving a feeding zone accessible to birds with a drum-shaped guardpresenting an at least approximately cylindrical vertically disposedsurface at least approximately 6 inches in diameter and at leastapproximately 18 inches in length, the guard being disposed above thefeeding device and means being provided for suspending the feedingdevice from below the guard with the center of the feeding devicesubstantially in alignment with the projected axis of the guard and withthe uppermost portion of the feeding device spaced from the lowermostportion of the guard by a distance not greater than about the diameterof the guard. Moreover, the outermost extremity of the feeding deviceradially from the projected vertical axis of the guard is not more thanapproximately one inch greater than that of the portion of theperipheral surface of the guard in vertical alignment therewith. Meanssuch as a cord is provided for suspending the guard from a support and ashield member is in secured relation to the guard that is adapted andarranged to prevent the passage of a squirrel through the interior ofthe guard. Preferably an elongated load-carrying member is disposedsubstantially along the vertical axis of the guard and means is providedfor maintaining the guard in fixed vertical and radial position withrespect to the elongated load-carrying member. In such case, the meansfor supporting the feeding device is suspended by and from theload-carrying member. Moreover, the load-carrying member adjacent theupper end thereof is suspended by and from the means for supporting theguard.

In actual demonstration the bird feeder combination described above hasproved to be extremely effective in preventing squirrels from havingaccess to the food in the bird feeder. Most ordinary suspending cordsare such that a squirrel can manage to slide down the suspending cord.However, when the bird feeder is in accordance with the presentinvention a squirrel attempting to slide down the cord is stopped by theguard. If the suspending cord were protected by a disc or the like, suchan expedient provides little in the way of an obstacle to the ingenuityof squirrels, for a squirrel intent on obtaining bird food will resortto expedients such as hanging by the rear feet while reaching forsomething to grasp therebelow or will drop or jump in such a way as togain a foothold on the feeding device itself. When the combination ofthis invention is employed such acrobatics have been found to befrustrated. The guard is such that a squirrel cannot gain his objectiveby hanging from the upper margin of the guard. Moreover, the squirrelcannot get a grip on the guard. In addition, if the squirrel attempts toswing the supported bird feeder back and forth so as to provide anopportunity to jump from above and land on the feeding device, thismaneuver also has been found to be frustrated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Further objects, features andadvantages of this invention will become apparent in connection with thefollowing description in connection with the drawings of certainpreferred embodiments of this invention for purposes of illustrating thepractice thereof.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the assembled bird feeder suspended froma support;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the top of the guard portion of the bird feederat the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section through the center of the guard on the line3-3 of FIG. 1 with the central portion thereof broken away; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional elevation of the upper portion of analternate form of guard construction.

Referring to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the drum-shapedguard is indicated generally by the reference character 10. Theprincipal component of the guard is the cylindrically shaped part 11which is referred to hereinafter as the cylinder and which preferablyand conveniently may be formed by bending a piece of sheet aluminum soas to provide a substantially cylindrical peripheral surface. Thevertically disposed overlapping edges of the sheet aluminum may besecured to each other as by rivets 12. The cylinder 11 is at least about6 inches in diameter. The diameter of the cylinder 11 may be larger, itsdiameter in large measure being dictated by the size of the feedingdevice comprised in the bird feeder. For example, if the diameter of thecylinder 11 is 6 inches, the diameter of a feeding device such as thatshown should be not more than about 8 inches. If the diameter of thefeeding device is about 12 inches, then the diameter of the cylindershould be at least about 10 inches, as will be described below. ThelengthL of the cylinder is at least about 18 inches in length and may belonger.

An elongated load-carrying member 13 is disposed substantially at theaxis of the cylinder 11 and protrudes from opposite ends thereof. Thecylinder is held in fixed radial and vertical position relative to theload-carrying member 13 by the straps 14 disposed at right angles toeach other at the upper end of the cylinder 11 and by similarly disposedcrossed straps 15 at the lower end of the cylinder 11. The straps l4 and15 may be secured to the cylinder 11 in any suitable way as by the useof rivets 16 which secure the turned ends of the straps to cylinder. Theelongated load-carrying member 13 passes through holes in the crossedstraps l4 and 15, which holes are disposed substantially at the verticalaxis of the cylinder 11 and determine the radial disposition of thecylinder relatively to the member 13. The vertical position of thecylinder may conveniently be fixed by resting straps 15 on the eye 26formed integrally with the lower end of the member 13. A wire meshscreen 17 is disposed the the upper end of the cylinder II and, as shownin FIGS. I and 2, it is held in position by having one of the straps 14above the wire mesh screen and the other strap 14 disposed underneaththe wire mesh screen. The screen 17 constitutes a shield member toprevent a squirrel from attempting to pass through the interior of thecylinderl l in its efforts to reach the feeding device.

The feeding device shown in FIG. 1 may be of any desired conventionaltype. That shown in FIG. I is a simple and relatively inexpensivefeeding device that has been found to be effective in attracting andfeeding birds. In this particular device the magazine for the food 38 isindicated by the reference character 18. The lower end of the magazineterminates and is held so as to be a short distance above the tray I9,which is of somewhat greater diameter than the magazine 18 and receivesfeed from the magazine so as to be accessible to birds to the extentthat the feed is consumed by birds. The perch 20 is provided on which abird may perch and from which a bird has access to the bird food in thetray 19 in the region where the tray 19 has greater diameter than themagazine 18. A roof 21 is provided to protect the food in the magazine18 from the weather and a removable port 22 may be provided therein forthe introduction of fresh supplies of bird food into the magazine. A rod23 passing through the center of the feeder and extending slightly fromthe bottom thereof holds the assembly together by some suitable meanssuch as a nut 24 threaded to the lower end of the rod. 23. The upper endof the rod 23 is provided with an eye 37 and a strand such as a cord orwire 25 is attached to the eye 37 and likewise to the eye 26 at thelower end of the elongated load-carrying member 13. While a specifictype of feeding device has been shown for purposes of illustration, itis apparent that other devices may be employed and that other birdfoods, for example suet, may be used instead of seed. I

In order that the combinationof the guard and the feedihg device may beeffective againstsquirrels, the uppermost pdrtion of the feeding deviceis spabed from the lowermost portion of theguard by a distance 5" notgreater than about the diameter of the guard. Moreover, the outermostextremity of the feeding device from the radially projected axis of theguard should not be more than approximately one inch greater than thatof the portion of the peripheral surface of the guard in verticalalignment therewith. These limitations have been determined to beimportant to the effectiveness of the bird feeder combination inpreventing squirrels from getting to the feeding device itself.Squirrels have been observed to start a suspended bird feeder swingingso as to gain access to the feeder by suitably timing a jump. However,when the dimen sions are as aforesaid, including the length and diameterof the cylinder, the spacing of the feeding device from the lowerportion of the cylinder and the diameter of the feeding device inrelation to the diameter of the cylinder, the bird feeder has been foundto effectively frustrate the ingenuity and agility of squirrels.

At the upper end of the elongated load-carrying member 13 there is aneye 27 to which the lower end of a wire, cord or other strand 28 isattached. The upper end of the strand 28 may be attached from anysuitable support such as the tree limb 29 shown in FIG. I.

In FIG. 4 an alternative drum construction is shown. The cylinder 11 maybe has hereinabove described. However, at the upper end thereof there isshown a sheet 30 of metal which may have perforations 31 therein andwhich may be secured to the upper margin of the cylinder 11 by therivets 32. In the central portion of the sheet 30 there is an upturnedear 33 having the aperture 34 therein through which the hook 35 may bepassed as suspended from the cord 36. In this embodiment the sheet 30which serves as a shield member to prevent squirrels from passingthrough the cylinder 11 is of sufficient strength to support thecylinder and the feeding device below the cylinder without theemployment of the elongated load-carrying member 13 as shown in FIGS.l3. However, in the practice of this invention it is much preferred toemploy the elongated load-carrying member extending end to end of thedrum at substantially the axis of the drum. When the upper end of thedrum is fashioned as shown in FIG. 4, the lower end of the drum may beof like construction.

I claim:

I. A suspendable bird feeder comprising in combination a feedin devicehaving a feeding zone accessible to birds, a drumaped guard presentingan at least approximately cylindrical vertically disposed surface atleast approximately 6 inches in diameter and at least approximately 18inches in length, means for suspending said feeding device from andbelow said guard with the center of said feeding device substantially inalignment with the projected axis of said guard and with the uppermostportion of said feeding device spaced from the lowermost portion of saidguard by a distance not greater than about the diameter of said guard,the spacing of the outermost extremity of said feeding device radiallyfrom said projected vertical axis of said guard not being more thanapproximately one inch greater than that of the portion of theperipheral surface of said guard in vertical alignment therewith, meansfor suspending said guard member from a support thereabove and a shieldmember in secured relation to said guard adapted and arranged to preventthe passage of a squirrel through the interior of said guard.

2. A suspendable bird feeder according to claim 1 wherein said means forsuspending said guard from a support thereabove comprises a memberadapted for the securement of a supporting strand thereto and means forfixedly maintaining said me nber adjacent the uppermost end of saidguard substantially in alignment with the vertical axis of said guard.

3. A suspendable bird feeder according to claim 1 which comprises anelongated load-carrying member disposed substantially along the verticalaxis of said guard, and means for maintaining said guard in fixedvertical and radial position with respect to said elongated member, saidmeans for supporting said feeding device being suspended by and fromsaid load-carrying member adjacent the lower end thereof and saidload-carrying member adjacent the upper end thereof being suspended byand from said means for supporting said guard.

4. For use in the suspending means for a suspended bird feeding device,a drum-shaped guard presenting an at least approximately cylindricalperipheral surface at least approximately 6 inches in diameter and atleast approximately 18 inches in length, means for preventing passage ofa squirrel longitudinally through the interior of said cylinder, amember adjacent each end of said cylinder adapted for the securement ofa suspending strand thereto, and means for maintaining said members infixed position relative to said cylindrical surface substantially inalignment with the longitudinal axis of said cylinder.

5. A guard according to claim 4 in which said guard is hollow and whichcomprises an elongated load-bearing member disposed substantially alongthe longitudinal axis of said cylinder having its opposite endsconnected, respectively, to said members.

1. A suspendable bird feeder comprising in combination a feeding devicehaving a feeding zone accessible to birds, a drum-shaped guardpresenting an at least approximately cylindrical vertically disposedsurface at least approximately 6 inches in diameter and at leastapproximately 18 inches in length, means for suspending said feedingdevice from and below said guard with the center of said feeding devicesubstantially in alignment with the projected axis of said guard andwith the uppermost portion of said feeding device spaced from thelowermost portion of said guard by a distance not greater than about thediameter of said guard, the spacing of the outermost extremity of saidfeeding device radially from said projected vertical axis of said guardnot being more than approximately one inch greater than that of theportion of the peripheral surface of said guard in vertical alignmenttherewith, means for suspending said guard member from a supportthereabove and a shield member in secured relation to said guard adaptedand arranged to prevent the passage of a squirrel through the interiorof said guard.
 2. A suspendable bird feeder according to claim 1 whereinsaid means for suspending said guard from a support thereabove comprisesa member adapted for the securement of a supporting strand thereto andmeans for fixedly maintaining said member adjacent the uppermost end ofsaid guard substantially in alignment with the vertical axis of saidguard.
 3. A suspendable bird feeder according to claim 1 which comprisesan elongated load-carrying member disposed substantially along thevertical axis of said guard, and means for maintaining said guard infixed vertical and radial position with respect to said elongatedmember, said means for supporting said feeding device being suspended byand from said load-carrying member adjacent the lower end thereof andsaid load-carrying member adjacent the upper end thereof being suspendedby and from said means for supporting said guard.
 4. For use in thesuspending means for a suspended bird feeding device, a drum-shapedguard presenting an at least approximately cylindrical peripheralsurface at least approximately 6 inches in diameter and at leastapproximately 18 inches in lengTh, means for preventing passage of asquirrel longitudinally through the interior of said cylinder, a memberadjacent each end of said cylinder adapted for the securement of asuspending strand thereto, and means for maintaining said members infixed position relative to said cylindrical surface substantially inalignment with the longitudinal axis of said cylinder.
 5. A guardaccording to claim 4 in which said guard is hollow and which comprisesan elongated load-bearing member disposed substantially along thelongitudinal axis of said cylinder having its opposite ends connected,respectively, to said members.